Rejoinders / Letters to the Editor

Rejoinders/Opinion/Letters

The Milli Gazette

Published Online: Aug 01, 2016

Print Issue: 1-15 August 2016

Enjoy reading my issues of Milli Gazette as they arrive in the mail. Certainly keeps me more informed about vital issues in India.

Anita McKone and Robert J. Burrowes, Australia

flametree@riseup.net

II

I wish the Milli Gazette all success in the ties to come and serve the community by enlighting with developments playing around us.

Shaik Rahamtulla

rahamtulla46@gmail.com

Indian Bureaucracy

Today it is bureaucracy which is ruling over the country. It reminds us of an anecdote of Stuart England when an English satirist asked, "who rules England" and he got the reply form a political scientist" The King". Who rules the King was the next question and came the reply "The Duke", and who rules the Duke the reply was the "The Devil". In the present Indian context if the question is asked who rules the India, the reply will be "Parliament" as under our democratic constitution Indian Parliament is Supreme and the reply to the next question, who rules the Parliament, the reply, "the Bureaucracy" will reveal the reality. Indian bureaucracy has become the greatest stumbling block and greatest hurdle in the smooth working of Indian democracy. In fact it is quite in compatible with democratic setup. The two cannot go together. In a democratic setup the government is for the people must serve them and do things for their welfare. Bureaucracy on the other hand is blind, deaf and dumb to the aspirations, feelings and sentiments of the people. It has become a far more potent and vital part in our administrative system. It has indeed become the most powerful and the most effective part of our system and has been lampooned for this obsession with files and out of date rulers which are not in tune with times. Very many sufferings of the common man are due to cumbersome and time consuming procedures followed by bureaucracy. There is rightly a hue and cry on the corruption of ministers and politicians but how strange it is that there is little hue and cry on the corruption of bureaucracy although reports raids at the houses of bureaucracy are published daily in papers about their fabulous wealth and jewelry. Time has come when the bureaucratic setup is done away and is replaced by a civil service whose members considered themselves as servants of the people are in view of the spirit of public service. Decidedly this will be a great step towards strengthening democracy and confer immense benefits on the Indian masses and India will become a welfare state.

Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, ex-MP, Delhi

Fanatical rightist politicians in the USA

This would ban the application of even personal laws such as prayer, charity, Haj, fasting etc Sharia has become a political issue in several non-Muslim majority countries, with a petition to ban Sharia council. Are the Shariah Laws given in the Quran (example follows) political? Should American or European rightist politicians throw them out of the Quran and ban the Muslims from following them even in their personal daily lives at home For example the following verses from the Quran talk about cleaning (ablution) before prayers, charity etc. Quran Chapter 4: Verse 43 says, "O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. Quran Reference 5:6: O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. [4:101] When ye travel through the earth, there is no blame on you if ye shorten your prayers, for fear the Unbelievers May attack you: For the Unbelievers are unto you open enemies. The following talks about writing a will before death [5:106] O ye who believe! When death approaches any of you, (take) witnesses among yourselves when making bequests,- two just men of your own (brotherhood) or others from outside if ye are journeying through the earth, and the chance of death befalls you (thus). [7:31] O children of Adam, you shall be clean and dress nicely when you go to the masjid

(mosque). And eat and drink moderately; Surely, Allah does not love the gluttons. 35:29-30] ): Those who rehearse the Book of Allah, establish regular Prayer, and spend (in Charity) out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a commerce that will never fail:(29) The following is about congregational prayer on Fridays [62:9-10] "O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew! (9) – And when the Prayer is finished, then may ye disperse through the land, and seek of the Bounty of Allah: and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): that ye may prosper. (10)" [98:5]: And they have been commanded no more than this: To worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular prayer; and to practise regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and Straight.

Pamohamedameen(via email)

Kashmir

Kashmir has become a death trap for our Army. The tour of Central home minister will not be of any use. The deaths of 46 civilians at the hands of our armed forces, will only boost more militancy. The British ruled India for two hundred years and Muslims ruled for about 800 years. Those days were entirely different. People had no clearcut concept of freedom. Now in thses days people have developed more political consciousness. The world has become global village. Any major or minor incident agaist Dalits or Muslims reaches the whole world. Sympathy is created for the victims and oppressors are condemned. People want peace and progress They do not allow the rulers to missuse armed forces.

Dr Maqdoomi, Gulbarga

drmaqdoomi@gmail.com

II

The Kashmiri people could have trusted India's offers for 'talks' had the Padgaonkar committee report not been trashed. When there is unrest in the valley the centre says it wants to resolve issues through talks but when there is peace, no efforts are made to hold these talks! Who is responsible for this? The talks Rajnath Singh is referring to now don't hold any promise for the people of Kashmir as the ruling dispensation has not been making any serious efforts to find a solution as has also been acknowledged by the Dalip Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar, M M Ansari Committee. Kashmiri people also seem to have lost faith in the Centre's promise of fair deliberation and trail in the matter and the kind of brutality the forces have unleashed on the people of Kashmir stands apart in its scale and impunity. The Centre needs to understand and acknowledge that the Kashmir issue is a political issue and can't be solved either through use of brutal force or through economic packages, both of which have been tried out since 1947. Sadly, however India starts engaging in talks to appease protesters only when there is unrest and then comfortably forgets and sits quiet when the unrest is over. If India is sincere however and for any concrete solution to materialize, talks and serious deliberations need to be held involving all stake-holders while atrocities and violence inflicted by police and armed forces need to be immediately stopped so that there is a meaning and purpose to the talks. We need to ask this dispensation what happened to the recommendations of the Dilip Padgaonkar commitee (Padgaonkar, Kumar, Ansari).

Mushtaq Pahalgami

mushtaqpahalgami786@gmail.com

An Open Letter the ISIS leader

The Man Who, Like A drama actor, metamorphosed into a Khalifah overnight; who, falsely, claims to be A "Baghdadi'' which he is not and who is a modern day Hajjaj bin Yousuf - A scoundrel, to say the least, who heads the dreaded and loathsome terrorist outfit - the ISIS." Describing Kashmir, the famous Mughal Emperor Jahangir, is reported to have said thrice that if there is any heaven on earth, it is KASHMIR. Likewise, I say and will say a million times: "if there is any human shaitan on earth today, it is that rascal named Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the chief of the accursed ISIS." Many are of the strong and right opinion that the terrorist attack in the sacred and beloved abode of peace - the earthly Heaven - the Madinathul Munawarrah was done with your knowledge and your consent. We have the least hesitation to classify you as a modern day Hajjaj Bin Yusuf - the trusted lieutenant of the Ummayid Khalifah Marwan who desecrated the Holy Kaabah. Remember, O devil incarnate, you are not going to live here forever nor will your wretched outfit remain intact. The wrath of Allah will soon be on you and your wretched brutal anti-Islam, so-called "Islamic State" which is indulging in Un-Islamic activities. And so, I have the least hesitation to pronounce hereby a strong curse on you and your wretched militant outfit: "fee naare jahannam khaleedana feeha!"

S. M. Pasha, Chennai

valimuhammad777@gmail.com

Zakir Naik

One among the umpteen terrorists in Dhaka is said to have said that he was inspired by Dr. Zakir Naik's sermons to indulge in terrorism. Will any mother's son or daughter answer my question: if A kills B and when is chargesheeted, in defence he says that he was "inspired" by the sermons of C, can C be arrested and can branded a TERRORIST and prosecuted on the strength of A's aforesaid statement? I am asking this question because this is exactly what is happening in Zakir Naik's case? Some chap, to save his skin, says he was inspired by Dr. Naik's sermons, the latter is branded a TERRORIST and his sermons as terrorism propaganda. Doesn't the word "INSPIRED" lose its meaning if and when it is used in such a loose and wrong manner?

Sa Mu Raja, Abu Dhabi (via email)

II

To the best of my knowledge neither the Central Executive Committee nor the top-level Office Bearers of the organisation have protested against the false, baseless, and malicious assertion that Dr. Zakir Naik is a TERRORIST and that his IRF and PEACE T. V. are handy vehicles to propagate TERRORISM I am of the firm opinion that their continued reasonless silence will cause harm to the organisation. SM Pasha, Chennai

valimuhammad777@gmail.com

III

My very dear friend Vellari who came to meet you along with me in September 2015, told me that there was a Support Zakir Naik campaign on MG's portal. I'm a bit surprised. So is she. We both look up to you and have stupendous regard for you as an intellectual. We're rather upset that MG is supporting a person who's a rabid preacher. This man knows only one thing: Venom-spewing. He's full of hatred for other religions and their followers. You can't defend him on this count. I've attended his religious gatherings and also interacted with him. He seems extremely monomaniac and sickly obstinate. How can MG campaign for such a big loudmouth, whose speeches are replete with outright negative references to all other faiths? I've always been a non-believer, yet, I don't condemn any man-made religion the way he does. To him, Islam is the only religion. All other religions are spurious. Can't the preachers of other faiths say the same about Islam? Why're you encouraging this rogue? This beats us. With due regards,

Sumit/Vallari

MG: Thank you for sharing your anxiety with me. I do not subscribe to Zakir Naik's style of preaching. What he follows is an archaic way known as munazira (debate) in which two parties take place, with each trying to prove that his faith is right and the other's wrong. This style of open munazira, attended by followers of both faiths, was in vogue in the 19th and early 20th century Subcontinent and took place basically between Christian preachers like Father Pfander and Molvi Rahmatullah Kairanwi, a freedom fighter who fled to Hijaz after 1857. That was the time when Christian missionaries were roaming around in British India saying that the ruler of the country is now Christian, hence his language and faith should also be embraced by his subjects. Some munaziras took place between Muslims and Hindus also during that period, but it was basically a Muslim-Christian affair. Mr Ahmad Deedat of South Africa revived this old style of religious debates and found success among Muslims suffering from Apartheid. Dr Zakir Naik, a trained physician, is a disciple of Mr Deedat. The acceptance that this style of debates gets among Muslims today is due to the continuous Western/Hindutva assault on Islam as a faith. Zakir Naik's popularity soared after the attacks on Islam in the wake of 9/11. Muslims are hungry for someone who at least in one field would defeat the Christians (and Hindutvites in India). Our support to Dr Zakir Naik is based on our assumption that the attack on him, based on out of context quotes, is in fact an assault on freedom of speech and on Indian Muslims which also takes the shape of fake terror claims etc. Freedom of speech and publication is a fundamental right. No society can survive and progress without it. I am a believing and practicing Muslim who sincerely believes that Islam is God's final message. (Dr Khan)

Pornography does not sell in advertising

"Pornography sells" is an erroneous statement and criticized, because it treats women as mere objects. At the conference "Sex, Lies and Advertising" at Cannes Lions 2016, Madonna Badger (pictured), CEO ofBadger & Winters, exposed the consequences of sexist advertising for the future of society, which are children. The Badger & Winters executive has been one of the leading figures in the struggle to remove messages showing a pornographic image of women. She has done it with the campaign #WomenNotObjects. During her speech in the aforementioned International Festival, she presented the third spot that makes up the campaign, "What Our Kids See", which puts the focus on the reactions of kids versus ads that demean women, according AdWeek. This is not the first time that children envision that kind of publicity, but they are exposed to it daily. Even Madonna Badger acknowledges having used in the past, the advertising practices which she now aims to end. In addition, the executive declared strongly in Cannes that pornographic ads harm the reputation of advertisers. Badger & Winters conducted a survey with 2,700 consumers aged 18 to 74 years to meet consumer perceptions and reactions to advertising, concluding that treat women as objects was "disastrous for the reputation of the brand and extremely harmful in purchase intent ". Speaking at Cannes Lions, Madonna Badger applauded the decision by Sadiq Khan, London Mayor vetoing advertising that fosters self-esteem issues, aware that the unreal beauty proclaimed in ads can degenerate into real foodborne illness. Neither men escape sexual exploitation. "Respect and dignity have no gender", pointed Madonna Badger. Despite the unfortunate message that "pornography sells," Badger & Winters claim thata change in the perception of marketing managers is possible, if advertising executives get unite against pornographic ads. Madonna Badger concluded her presentation by mentioning her three great loves in life; her daughters, her husband and "advertising and its power to do good and do no harm".

Clemente Ferrer, Madrid, Spain

clementeferrer@clementeferrer.com

Spangler's words

France seems to have become a punching bag for terrorists. The latest attack at Nice on Bastille Day National holiday is all the more ironic. Since Muslim apologists take umbrage, I'm holding myself back from naming them. But it's clear, who has perpetrated this attack. Terrorism has become a part and parcel of our lives. Spangler wrote in his magnum opus 'Decline of the West', 'Civilisational wars and conflicts based mainly on religions will wreck havoc in the 21st century and not just the West, but the whole humanity will begin to sink socially and morally' (page 71). So prophetic words!! We're seeing this happen now.

Sumit Paul

MG: It's not that simple. European or white lives are not more important than others'. Have a look at what they have done during the past 3-4 centuries or just look at what they have done in the recent past. Look at the 2 million Algerians killed by France before they got their freedom in 1962. Do you know that France is still exacting reparations from its former colonies in Africa for the infrastructure it built during the colonial period? Please read the article "14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax For the Benefits of Slavery and Colonization" on http://www.siliconafrica.com/france-colonial-tax/

190 Responses to "14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax For the Benefits of Slavery and Colonization" Crew Yew January 28, 2014 and you will like spitting at these civilised animals. Here is the Cost Of American War only in Iraq in which France is very much a partner. Obama so much said that France and Britain pushed US to the war in Libya. Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq: 1,455,590 Number of U. S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America's War On Iraq: 4,883 Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 3,487 Total Cost of Wars Since 2001: US$: 1,700,246,262,636

(As per Information Clearing House, 15-7-16). So, Dr Paul, it is not a simple black and white issue. Victims too are humans. They have their human rights and must be heard. (Dr Khan)

SP: Agreed, Dr Khan but killing is no answer to killing. It's like Qeesas (eye for an eye) This will render the whole world blind. I don't deny France's complicity, but what the 'victims' are doing cannot be justified either. We're all ruthless, opportunistic and bloodthirsty. You'll have to accept this truism. And as a sane and sensitive person, I'm sure, you'll concede that mankind has degenerated morally and emotionally.

MG: You are so much mesmerised by West that you fail to make difference between molehill and mountain, between victims and goons. You parrot the old line "This will render the whole world blind". Saudi Arabia applies Qasaas but during my dozens of visits I failed to find even a single man who has been blinded or whose hands cut off by way of qasaas. These punishments are deterrent but made very difficult for a judge to apply them. Then there is diyat system according to which money or blood-money is paid to the victims' family which in turn pardons the criminal. Look what western countries have been doing for the last four hundred years, from slavery to whole-sale loot and pauperisation of third world countries (mostly Muslim). The loot continues in a different way today. Pl read Confessions of an Economic hitman by John Perkin to understand the current system of loot perfected by western countries. No offense intended. (Dr Khan)

Two main sources of terrorism

While it is not so easy to give an exhaustive analysis of the prevailing menace of terrorism, as it has varied phenomena, offshoots and ramifications, but still to my mind, it has two general sources: 1. Ruthless Western intervention in almost every part of the world, especially the Muslim lands, and, to achieve the nefarious designs of hegemony, creating, promoting and patronizing different terror groups. 2. Sectarian hatred within Muslim society, spread through a sustained campaign, over decades or even centuries - so much so that each sect considers other sects as nothing short of heretic or infidel, and the bitterest enemy of Islam.

Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani, Lucknow

sherwanimk@yahoo.com

This article appeared in The Milli Gazette print issue of 1-15 August 2016 on page no. 23

We hope you liked this report/article. The Milli Gazette is a free and independent readers-supported media organisation. To support it, please contribute generously. Click here or email us at sales@milligazette.com